Review: Tequila Dinastia Real Plata
Tequila Dinastia Real Plata is one of 5 Dinastia Real tequila expressions produced at Tequila Selecto de Amatitan. The others include a Reposado, Anejo, Extra Anejo, and Extra Anejo Cristalino. Some of the other tequilas made at this distillery include Manik, Blue Nectar, Asom Broso, and Insolente. According to their Facebook page Tequila Dinastia Real Plata is bottled immediately after distillation. Their website claims it is aged for 45 days in French oak barrels before bottling. When I sent an email to them they said after distillation they blended 90% unaged tequila with 10% Dinestria Real Extra Anejo Cristalino tequila to create Tequila Dinastia Real Plata. After tasting this tequila I will give you by thoughts as to which production method I believe is used. Dinastia Real is made from a blend of Highland and Lowland grown agave. Each bottle is hand labeled with the bottle number and date hand written on the label. As a bonus, the glass stopper doubles as a stylish shot glass once you have finished drinking the bottles contents. Read more 
Review: Sesion Blanco Tequila
Sesion Blanco Tequila was introduced in Australia in 2015 by husband and wife Jennifer Hawkins and Jake Wall and their friend Tim Freeburn. While this is not the first Australian launched spirit we have reviewed, it is certainly the first Australian launched tequila we have reviewed. Sesion is now available in the US. I’m going to classify this as another celebrity owned tequila brand as Jennifer Hawkins was Miss Universe 2004, and she has appeared on Dancing with the Stars Australia, and hosted Australia’s Next Top Model. Jake Wall’s resume includes time as a Project Developer. Tim Freeburn is described as a tequila expert and friend of the couple. The threesome traveled to Mexico and partnered with members of the Beckmann Family to develop the Sesion Brand which currently includes Sesion Reposado, and Sesion Mocha. Sesion is produced and bottled at Tierra de Agaves. This distillery also produces Lunazul and Tributo Tequila. The Master Distiller is Francisco Quijano and Master Agave Farmer is Jose Fernandez. There are several things that drew me to this tequila. The back story, bottle design, and the fact that Sesion won a Double Gold Medal at the 2019 SIP Awards. I even like the name. Let’s see if Sesion Blanco lives up to my lofty expectations. Read more
Review: Playa Real Pineapple Tequila
Playa Real Pineapple Tequila is one of three tequila varieties created by Austin Texas natives Matt Davis and Auturo Vargas. They worked together for ten years at Heineken before launching the brand. The previously reviewed Silver and Playa Real Mandarin complete the lineup. Both a Reposado and Anejo expression are currently barrel aging. To get things started Matt and Auturo traveled to Mexico to selected a distillery. They chose La Cofradia to craft their tequila. After sampling over 30 different samples they both agreed on their favorite formula which would become Playa Real Silver. This 100% agave tequila is handcrafted using a precise triple distillation process. Natural oil extracts from real pineapple is infused with the Silver tequila when crafting Playa Real Pineapple. Unlike most flavored tequila’s Playa Real Pineapple weighs in at a full 80 proof. Read more
Review: Seis Hermanas Blanco Tequila
Seis Hermanas Blanco Tequila is no longer produced, but it is still available from several online retailers including Old Town Tequila in San Diego. I found this bottle on a back shelf in my bar while I was actually looking for another unreviewed tequila. Being a baseball fan I enjoy visiting different baseball parks and one of my biggest regrets is never seeing a game in the old Tiger Stadium in Detroit. I’ve heard good things about Seis Hermanas Blanco and if it’s as good as some say, I’d like to pass the word around while it is still available so those interested won’t miss out like I did with Tiger Stadium. Seis Hermanas translates to six sisters, and it is six sisters who created the brand to honor their father who grew up in the small town of Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico with a dream of sharing his Mexico with the world. It was made at Feliciano Vivanco y Asociados. This distillery currently produces 20 tequila brands including Yeyo, Siembra Azul, Arte NOM Seleccion de 1414, Tequila Cabeza, and Tequila Honor Del Castillo. Read more
Review: Insolito Blanco Tequila
Insolito Blanco Tequila was released February 2020 in Texas. Insolito translates to uncommon, rare, extraordinary. It is crafted at Premium de Jalisco by Master Distiller Alberto Herrera in partnership with country music band Midland. Located at 7200 feet above sea level in the Sierra del Tigres mountains of Jalisco, this is the highest distillery in Mexico. This distillery also produces several brands of tequila including Dos Armadillos, Pura Vida, Religion, and Tavi tequila. Insolito is made from a blend of 80% Highland grown agave, and 20% Lowland agave. The tequila is fermented in steel vats and double distilled in stainless steel stills. The tequila rests for several months in steel tanks before bottling at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Teremana Reposado Tequila
Teremana Reposado Tequila was recently released. Teremana is one of a growing list of celebrity owned tequila brands. In this case, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Dwayne Johnson has already played on a NCAA Football National Championship Team, The Miami Hurricanes of 1991, become a WWF Championship Wrestler, written a #1 New York Time Best Selling book, and his films have generated over $10.5 billion dollars world wide in revenue. Having accomplished all of this, Dwayne wasn’t about to cheapen his reputation by slapping his name on a random bottle of tequila. Instead The Rock partnered with Ken Austin, Founder and former CEO of Tequila Avion, and former President of Avion, Jenna Fagnan in building a tequila from the ground up. He built his own distillery, Distilera Teremana. The copper pot stills were made by a local artisan on the premise of the distillery. The agave is grown at the highest elevation in the Jalisco Highlands. The 100% Blue Weber agave is slow roasted for 3 days in traditional brick ovens. Once cooled the pinas are shredded and the juice is open air fermented in stainless steel vats. After a small batch double distillation, the tequila rests for a minimum of two months in former bourbon barrels before bottling at 80 proof. All this sounds great but how does it taste? Read more
Review: Dano’s Dangerous Anejo Tequila
Dano’s Dangerous Anejo Tequila recently took home a Double Gold Medal and Best in Class Award at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. This was no small feat as they competed against 135 tequilas. After years of infusing his favorite tequila with fresh pineapple and jalapeno Danny Thompson was convinced by friends to bottle his own. On a trip to Mexico with Chris Timmerman they drank 200 different varieties of tequila from all the different distilleries before selecting Hacienda de Reyes, a small family owned distillery since 1840 to craft their tequila. Dano’s Anejo is made from 100% Blue Agave grown in the Highland region for a minimum 8 years and measured for brix content before harvesting. The pinas are slow steam cooked for 26 hours in a 180 year old brick oven. Once cooled the pinas are crushed by a traditional tahona. The extracted juice is fermented in open air wooden vats. 4th generation Master Distiller Raul Reyes Barajas double distills the spirit in copper stills and ages the tequila for 18 months in virgin white oak barrels. Most anejo tequila is aged for as little as 12 months. Dano’s Anejo is bottled with zero additives. Read more
Review: Dano’s Dangerous Reposado Tequila
It’s not often we get the opportunity to review a brands complete line of tequila from Blanco through Anejo. Its even less frequent when that product line includes four varieties. In this case a fresh Pineapple & Jalapeno flavor infused tequila. Today we are reviewing Dano’s Dangerous Reposado Tequila. On Friday we will complete our journey with our review of Dano’s Anejo. Dano’s Dangerous Reposado is crafted at Casa Reyes Barajas, the second oldest tequila distillery in Mexico. The 100% Weber Blue agave is grown at an elevation over 3000 feet in the Highland region for a minimum of 8 years. The agave is steam cooked in 180 year old hornos, crushed with a traditional tahona, fermented in open air wooden vats, and double distilled in copper stills. While most reposado’s are aged for as little as 2 months, Dano’s is aged for 9 months in virgin oak barrels. Read more
Review: Dano’s Dangerous Blanco Tequila
Dano’s Dangerous Blanco Tequila is one of four tequila varieties currently crafted at Casa Reyes Barajas, the second oldest tequila distillery in Mexico. The others include a Reposado, Anejo, and a fresh Pineapple & Jalapeno infused tequila. Each expression starts with 100% blue Weber agave grown at an elevation over 3000 feet in the Highland region for a minimum 8 years. Each hand selected agave is brix tested for sweetness. Once trimmed the pina is steam cooked for 26 hours in 180 year old hornos. The cooled pina’s are crushed with a traditional tahona and the extracted juice is fermented with yeast that grows naturally on their agave leaves, in open air wood vats. The spirit is then double distilled using only copper stills before bottling at 80 proof. Read more
Review: Dano’s Dangerous Pineapple & Jalapeno Tequila
Dano’s Dangerous Pineapple & Jalapeno Tequila was created by Dano Thompson and is crafted in Tequila Mexico at one of the oldest tequila distilleries in Mexico. Dano started infusing Pineapple and Jalapeno into his favorite tequila at his home in Steamboat Springs Colorado. He shared with his friends, who soon became fans. The fresh flavor and smooth finish made this a dangerous cocktail, as it was very easy to over indulge. That description found it’s way on to the bottles label. During a visit to Mexico with Chris Timmerman, Dano met with Sylvia Reyes the fourth generation owner of Hacienda de Reyes, a family owned distillery that opened in 1840. The distillery produces their tequila using traditional craft methods. They worked together to develop the infusion using fresh pineapple, and jalapeno, not flavors or extracts, and their own crafted 100% Agave Azul Blanco Tequila. Dano also agreed to distribute the Reyes family tequila under the Dano’s label in the US. Read more